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Severus


If my vacuum can remove even one spec of dirt that yours misses, then mine is better than yours - even if there's no proof that mine would have picked up as much dirt as yours...

Joined: Jul 31, 2007
Points: 397

carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
Original Message   May 26, 2010 1:54 pm
Several people have commented that Oreck's aren't in general heavy duty vacuums.  So what carpet types are Oreck's most appropriate for?   I believe CR gave most of the Oreck's tested in the last several years scores of good to very good for cleaning medium pile carpeting.   

Carmine has mentioned the failure of a Dyson DC07 on wool carpeting. 

I would think that deep shag and berber carpeting would have special challenges different from medium pile carpeting.  

The smart tyrant writes his own story to ensure that it is favorable.  The lazy will repeat lines from the book without fact checking. 
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CarmineD


Joined: Dec 31, 2007
Points: 5894

Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
Reply #8   May 27, 2010 6:41 am
Severus wrote:
So is it fair to say that if you have low pile carpeting, the top rated Hoover Windtunnel in the leading consumer magazine is probably overkill and not a good fit?  Just as a Oreck may not be a good fit for deep pile carpeting? 



I have to come down on the same side as Venson WRT this statement.  Depends on the amount of low pile carpet to clean and how often you vacuum.  HOOVER WT may be just what the vacuum doctor ordered if you have 1500-2000 plus sq foot of low pile carpet and vacuum 1 or 2 a week.  On the other hand an ORECK is the best fit for 400 sq foot of high thick woven wool white carpet vacuumed daily.  Especially if the user for the latter is an older man/woman.

Carmine D.

CarmineD


Joined: Dec 31, 2007
Points: 5894

Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
Reply #9   May 27, 2010 6:59 am

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    This message was modified May 27, 2010 by CarmineD
    Severus


    If my vacuum can remove even one spec of dirt that yours misses, then mine is better than yours - even if there's no proof that mine would have picked up as much dirt as yours...

    Joined: Jul 31, 2007
    Points: 397

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #10   May 27, 2010 11:55 am
    Just for the sake of argument, I think I will disagree.   If it's true that almost any vacuum will clean low pile carpeting, would you really want to use a vacuum that has a very aggressive brush roll?   There are certainly a lot of Kenmores, Panasonics, and European brands with softer brushes.     Just because the Windtunnel is optimal for medium pile carpeting, is it really optimal for low level carpeting? 

    The smart tyrant writes his own story to ensure that it is favorable.  The lazy will repeat lines from the book without fact checking. 
    vacmanuk


    Location: Scotland UK
    Joined: May 31, 2009
    Points: 1162

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #11   May 27, 2010 12:57 pm
    For all that I'm not a fan of Oreck I must say Ive found them to be great for deep thick carpeting. The wooden brush rolls and thick bushy bristles are perfect for deep carpeting. Sebo's X suffers with high pile deep thick carpeting though - the sensor gets confused and can't lift the floor head high enough. For low carpet though Sebo's X models are brilliant. I've found the most aggressive brush rolls to be Dyson uprights.
    CarmineD


    Joined: Dec 31, 2007
    Points: 5894

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #12   May 27, 2010 1:20 pm
    Severus wrote:
    Just for the sake of argument, I think I will disagree.   If it's true that almost any vacuum will clean low pile carpeting, would you really want to use a vacuum that has a very aggressive brush roll?   There are certainly a lot of Kenmores, Panasonics, and European brands with softer brushes.     Just because the Windtunnel is optimal for medium pile carpeting, is it really optimal for low level carpeting? 


    Not completely true to mw SEVERUS.  An excellent example to me is the latest HOOVER lightweight bagged upright.  It is higher up off the carpet than the ORECK due to the larger wheels.  Does ok but not nearly as well IMHO as an ORECK.  Can't adjust the height on either the ORECK and/or HOOVER lightweight.  But the height can be adjusted on a HOOVER WT and/or HOOVER TEMPO for low pile carpet.  I certainly would not want to use a 12 inch cleaning swath on an ORECK and/or HOOVER lightweight for 1500-2000 plus sq feet of low pile carpet.  Takes too long.  I would use the 15 inch plus cleaning swath on a TEMPO or WT in a heart beat on this area of low pile carpeting. 

    Carmine D.

    Venson


    Joined: Jul 23, 2007
    Points: 1900

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #13   May 27, 2010 2:58 pm
    Severus wrote:
    Just for the sake of argument, I think I will disagree.   If it's true that almost any vacuum will clean low pile carpeting, would you really want to use a vacuum that has a very aggressive brush roll?   There are certainly a lot of Kenmores, Panasonics, and European brands with softer brushes.     Just because the Windtunnel is optimal for medium pile carpeting, is it really optimal for low level carpeting? 



    Aggressive is a broad term.  Not forgetting that new carpeting usually gives up lots of loose fibers, as long as a brushroll with firm tufts of bristles does not pull up, cut or unravel carpet fibers all should be fine. A decent vacuum cleaner is designed to manage all standard pile heights.  There's no sense or practicality in making or buying a machine that works well with only one carpet type.  As well, there's no sense in producing modern carpeting that hasn't the strength to bear regular vacuuming.

    If a vacuum is good on medium and high pile, then one might hope it will be all the more thorough and quick on low pile and cut your work time.

    Performance on low pile as it is easy to clean to my knowledge has never been used as an example in selling.  You can't push the "deep clean" hype with it.  That has more to do with our secret longing to live like rich folks.  Thus, in the name of comfort, we're more prone go for harder to clean thick pile of affordable man-made fiber.

    The larger part of the world hasn't a clue as to which machines have aggressive brushrolls.  The persons to who that may be of real concern would probably be museum curators or purveyors of antique carpeting.  Any kind of carpet requring a careful preservation regemin should be be cleaned using a straight suction rug nozzle (note that I said nothing about using your upright with the brushroll off) if there is the slightest question or concern regarding damage from vacuuming.  If there was a substantial amount of public demand for different grade brushrolls or an appreciable amount of complaint about unnecessary rug wear, I'm sure the option would be offered.

    Venson

    retardturtle1


    Joined: May 16, 2009
    Points: 358

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #14   May 27, 2010 6:08 pm
    Severus wrote:
    Just for the sake of argument, I think I will disagree.   If it's true that almost any vacuum will clean low pile carpeting, would you really want to use a vacuum that has a very aggressive brush roll?   There are certainly a lot of Kenmores, Panasonics, and European brands with softer brushes.     Just because the Windtunnel is optimal for medium pile carpeting, is it really optimal for low level carpeting? 


    I agree to a point....although most do well on low carpet , some do far better and are eisier to use. The orecks we use do well in the offices and cubicals..small courtrooms and kitchenetts/brk rooms. short hallways ect....easy to use and small to fit in those tight spots/areas.

    On the larger areas where their is far more surface area to cover we use...panasonics, riccars, tempos, sanit comm..ect ...works out very well among the diverse cleaning staff we have....all are happy [at the moment].

    My view is this...an aggressive roller can be ajusted to the situation....or most. better to have more than you need in case you need it than to not have enough when needed.

    turtle

    Just


    Joined: Nov 28, 2007
    Points: 172

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #15   May 28, 2010 3:48 pm
    The man at Oreck said that the shag/Frize type carpeting was very hard on the vacuum and the belts because the loser strands on this type of carpeting would wrap around the brush roll and put a strain on the motor and belt.    This was the main reason they didn't recommend Oreck for this type of carpeting.
    CarmineD


    Joined: Dec 31, 2007
    Points: 5894

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #16   May 28, 2010 6:24 pm
    Just wrote:
    The man at Oreck said that the shag/Frize type carpeting was very hard on the vacuum and the belts because the loser strands on this type of carpeting would wrap around the brush roll and put a strain on the motor and belt.    This was the main reason they didn't recommend Oreck for this type of carpeting.


    As a rule of thumb, I opine that any vacuum, full size and/or lightweight, that does not have a rug height adjustment and instead calls itself self adjusting, like ORECK and dyson to mention 2 off the top of my head, would not fare well on these types of carpets.  To the credit of ORECK in both oral sales pitches like this one and written literature, it specifically disqualifies itslef on high shag carpets.  Of course, there is nothing to lose with the ORECK's 30 day in home no obligation free trial.

    Carmine D.

    retardturtle1


    Joined: May 16, 2009
    Points: 358

    Re: carpet types that cause vacuums to fail
    Reply #17   May 28, 2010 7:18 pm
    CarmineD wrote:
    As a rule of thumb, I opine that any vacuum, full size and/or lightweight, that does not have a rug height adjustment and instead calls itself self adjusting, like ORECK and dyson to mention 2 off the top of my head, would not fare well on these types of carpets.  To the credit of ORECK in both oral sales pitches like this one and written literature, it specifically disqualifies itslef on high shag carpets.  Of course, there is nothing to lose with the ORECK's 30 day in home no obligation free trial.

    Carmine D.

    Hi Carmine

    Agree and disagree.....a bi-weekly cleaning of the roller and end caps is a good rule of thumb to follow....and one i try to show my customers.
    The oreck is a pretty great vac....a multi-purpose tool but thicker older style carpets really bog it down.....but the service and nohassle guarentee make it a no lose situation.

    The floating head i feel ...just does better. with the proper roller and power it is quite the deep cleaner on the riccars and panasonics....what i prefer and has the brushroll head weight to float or glide across the most demanding carpets..     then again the height ajst on the tempos and sanit comm is hard to beat....so i guess we agree to disagree my friend.

    turtle

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